Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Where to Go in California

By Mary Bush

Warner Bros. Studio Tour is a tour of a Museum cum Studio. Visit some sets, costumes and learn about film making. However no kids under 8 are allowed. Summer timings are 9am to 3: 30pm and in winter are 9am to 3pm. Booking in advance is recommended.

If you want the luxury of an old ship, come to Queen Mary Seaport. It offers transatlantic historic ship walk tours, unique shops, an elegant restaurant, art deco saloons and on board hotel.

Six Flags Magic Mountain / Six Flags Hurricane Harbor offers you a thrill of a lifetime with its exciting and thrilling rides for the whole family. The Hurricane Harbor is open during summer time only, from May to September.

Disneyland Resort was created by Walt Disney himself offering great rides for all people of any age. It has now grown up to be the largest theme park in the world.

An island made from a Volcano's lava spit, Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park, is in the middle of a big lake. The place is accessible by boat only. The park is surrounded by lots of rivers and lakes, the cold water that flows into comes from Tule lake, on the Northern side.

From the park you get a stunning view of Mount Shasta. It offers hiking, fishing and a wonderful site for wildlife watching. Canoeists, boaters and hikers can explore this 6000 acres park.

With four miles of riverfront Bidwell- Sacramento River State Park, the park offers boating, canoeing, kayaking and river rafting to tourists. In this 180 acres park you can enjoy fishing, boating and picnicking.

From Fremont Peak you can watch the magnificent views of Gavilan Range, San Benito Valley, Salinas Valley and the Santa Lucia Mountains. The park also has an astronomical observatory, which is open to public on selected evenings.

The park's elevated peak is 3,169 ft and has pine and oak woodlands. It is home for many birds and small animals.

California's last major free flowing river runs through Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park which was established in 1929 and spread over 10,000 acres.

Dense ground cover has lots of variety of bushes, shrubs, ferns, flowers, lichens and mosses. Most of the park is watershed from the Smith River and Mill Creek, an important tributary.

With six miles of Sonoma Coast, Salt Point State Park, offers an elegant view ranging from sandy beach coves to steep and sandstone cliffs. - 16492